A Generation of Delible Dentist Appointments
by Muffinzelda
Summary: In which Hobson and Lewis are irked by Hathaway's pithy observations.
1. Chapter 1

A Generation of Delible Dentist Appointments

Author Note- This story is for fan purposes only. All of the characters and the italicized text are the property of their respective owners (not me) and are used here without permission.

Chapter 1- The alarm code is 0000.

_Robbie: Miranda and Connelly, in love with each other for 20 years and never said a word._

_James: Scared of rejection._

_Robbie: So they bury themselves in their work, become very successful, and very alone._

_James: Now who does that remind me of?_

_ -Generation of Vipers_

Laura Hobson made her way across the pub and onto the back terrace. She was approaching the table where DI Robbie Lewis and his sergeant James Hathaway were seated, already enjoying a pint. She had let them hide out at her house for a few hours, and Robbie intended to repay her kindness over drinks. Laura was within earshot as Robbie and James ruminated on the case's implications.

She stood stunned for a moment by Hathaway's audacity, waiting for Robbie to react. He said nothing. Barely even twitched. Hathaway must have sensed her presence because he turned around and greeted her. "Speak of the devil! Good evening, Dr. Hobson." Robbie choked a little on his beer.

"Evening, James, Robbie." She realized that she would be smarter to let it go, but she was never very good at holding her tongue. "That's not a fair comparison at all, James."

"No? " Hathaway smiled at her with feigned innocence. He stood up and motioned for her to take his chair next to Robbie. She remained standing.

"Drop it, lad." Robbie hissed, more mortified than angry. James did not, instead doubling down on his smug grin this time directed at his governor.

Laura was incensed. "Oh you've got it all figured out, haven't you, cleverclogs? Let me remind you that while you were doing your O levels, I was building my career. I wouldn't spend twenty years pining away for any man, let alone someone else's family man."

"My mistake, Doctor. Not twenty years, just the last ten." Laura took the carafe of water from the table and jolted it upward, splashing James in the face. She turned on her heels and stalked off so quickly that she didn't hear Robbie call her name.

Hathaway's remarks were still haunting her an hour later as she was trying to relax with a glass of wine at home. She was going to escape into a novel but noticed that the bookshelf was actually neater than she had left it. Knowing that Robbie wouldn't have bothered with her bookshelf, she recognized this as Hathaway's handiwork and silently cursed him again. The tidy tomes mocked her as if to say, "Hathaway was right!"

Right, Robbie. She knew him back then as the happy-go-lucky sergeant; she knew him today as the weathered inspector he had become. Twenty years ago they would have been horribly suited for each other, but circumstances change and she reckoned that they fit together right nicely now. Today, she had let her emotions get the best of her and was embarrassed by her own overreaction. But that hadn't been the start of her folly.

When she had learned through social media that Robbie would need to lay low for a while, the wheels in her head started turning. What had she been thinking when she had left her keys for Robbie? That he would be there waiting when she came home from work? That he would need to spend the night? It was more a strategy than a plan, of course, but either way it was doomed from the start. She should have aborted the whole idea when she couldn't actually find Robbie to give him her keys, but Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent had seen her hovering around his office. So Laura left her keys with Innocent, and much to her chagrin and/or paranoia, Laura swore that she could hear the Chief Superintendent making snogging noises behind her back as she left. Innocent would never do that- or would she? Deciding that she was cracking up, Laura said aloud "I've got to give this up before I completely humiliate myself." Robbie was a loyal friend, and that was enough. She didn't need a man, never did, and never would. But it might be nice…

Laura's phone began to vibrate on the coffee table. 'Lewis' blinked on the display. As much as she wanted to pick up, she was paralyzed by her wounded pride. The phone stopped its insistent buzz and it sat for another minute in silence before another buzz indicated a new voice mail.

She decided to take a bubble bath before facing Robbie's message. When she finally caved into her curiosity and checked her voice mail, there were two messages waiting. "Laura, it's me- it's Robbie- but you know that. Anyway, I just wanted to…" He trailed off, at a loss for what to say. "Just so you know, I don't take anything James says seriously." Long pause. "And your alarm code shouldn't be 0000." Another pause. "Good night, Laura."

"Good night, Robbie," she sighed.

The second message was from DI Alan Peterson.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Chez my gob

Several months later…

_James: You know, Lipton reminds me of you. Stubborn, stuck in the past._

_ -The Indelible Stain_

Robbie Lewis took one last glance at the home of Andrew Lipton, a man who had murdered in the name of love, whatever that means. Love- as Robbie knew it- was something pure that wouldn't lead to bloodshed, even if it were unrequited. He got in the car and drove off in a huff. This was the second time in a year that a very smug Hathaway had tried to make a murder investigation into an allegory for Robbie's life and disintegrating pseudo-relationship with Laura Hobson. This may be Oxford, but it's really not that complicated. Robbie was a man of simple pleasures. He was going to watch a match in a sweaty pub on a stupid-sized telly. He might even take his tie off this time.

Robbie would never admit it, but he had felt a knot in his stomach when he thought that there could be something brewing between Laura and Peterson. He was utterly relieved when he learned that Laura would not be going to dinner with Action Man, but he still wasn't going to call her himself.

Two hours later, Newcastle was winning, and Robbie was savouring his favourite beer. He felt his mobile vibrate. Annoyed, he decided to ignore it, but the father in him nagged. "Maybe it's our Lyn," he thought. "Just check to see who it is." He fluttered a bit when he saw Laura Hobson's name on the display, but jerked back to the television when Newcastle scored and the pub went mad. Laura. Football. Laura. Football. Laura. He answered the phone just before it went to voicemail.

"Hullo, Robbie. I heard that the Yelland case wrapped up this afternoon. I thought maybe you could buy me dinner to make up for the dentist debacle. Nothing fancy, I just don't want to cook tonight."

He agreed to meet her after the match to make up for bailing on the dentist appointment she had made for him. When the match was over he headed over to the rendez-vous point where Laura was already waiting. He strode in confidently, emboldened by Newcastle's victory. When he saw her and her lovely décolletage, however, he realized that he should have gone home to change and maybe even shower as beer had been spilling liberally all afternoon. She seemed not to notice as she greeted him warmly.

"You're in a good mood, Robbie!"

"Newcastle won in a shootout. It was brilliant."

"I guess it was foolish of me to assume that you're just happy to see me."

"Of course I am; it's always an honour to buy you dinner." She was going to comment on his mocking tone, but he continued. "Action Man isn't so lucky!"

She looked at him quizzically, and then started to laugh. "Is that what you call Peterson?" He didn't answer but gave a sheepish grin. "It suits him," she conceded.

"So, he's not your type…" He was fishing for something more, something that she was not going to volunteer.

"No. And for the record, I am not too keen on Geordies with bad teeth either." He knew that she was just teasing, but not without a certain… bite.

"My teeth are perfect. No need for a dentist."

"No, not when a barber can do tooth extractions." Sarcasm was often Laura's weapon of choice. "When was the last time you saw a dentist?"

"1992."

She shuddered at the thought. "Good Lord, Robbie. You've got to take care of yourself." Laura won that round of repartee. He had nothing to add, so he conceded to her with a nod. They were silent until Laura spoke again. "Robbie, can I ask you something personal?"

"Aye."

"Well, that's 20 years- an entire generation- so it's not just one of those things you've been neglecting since Val's been gone. What I mean is: Val never made you see a dentist?"

He drew a deep breath and exhaled before answering. Every day he regretted the things he never did with Val, but seeing the dentist with her had never crossed his mind. "She knew to pick her battles, I guess. I've been told I'm stubborn."

"So I gather." If anyone else had invoked the memory of his wife- even Hathaway- he would have been irate, but it was different with Laura. He knew that death held no taboo for a pathologist and she had a reputation for speaking frankly.

"What do you mean, 'one of those things I've been neglecting'?" Robbie could always trust Laura for an honest opinion, but this time she said nothing.

Their food arrived, and with it came another beer for Robbie. Though he'd been nursing a beer all afternoon, he always made sure to stay within the legal limit. He would never cross that line in front of Laura, especially. Robbie took in a gobful of beer that he did not swallow. "MMMPH!" Laura intoned in alarm, her mouth full of curry. Unable to stop him verbally, she grabbed his hand as he raised a pain pill to his lips. His eyes widened as if to ask "what did I do?"

"Robbie…" she started to admonish him about mixing pills and alcohol, but their eyes met and held a gaze. Her expression softened. "That's a waste of good beer." He chuckled as she lowered their hands to the table, his fist still ensconced in hers. "You've got to do something about that toothache, Robbie."

"James thinks he's taking me to his dentist tomorrow at 8."

"Will James require assistance, or will you go peacefully?"

Robbie half wondered if she was inviting herself over for breakfast. However, he realized that being tag-teamed by Hathaway and Hobson would not be pretty and decided not to pursue that idea. "I'll go of me own free will."

Later, as they said goodnight in front of her car, she said to him, "take care of yourself, Robbie, teeth and all the rest." Another gaze into each other's eyes followed. "I'll call you the next time I am dissecting someone's liver."

"Or whenever you want." He whispered. Laura smiled, scrunching up her face the way she did when she was truly happy. Robbie held the car door, waited, and watched to see that she was safely on her way. All his pain and fear dissipated with the exhaust fumes as Laura drove down the road.


End file.
